Last year’s Savannah Women’s March signaled a new platform to address women’s issues. While the movement’s current platforms include #MeToo and #TimesUp and wage disputes, this year’s march is also aimed at getting more women to the polls and on ballots for midterms.

The day’s schedule was created by Women’s March Savannah co-organizers Coco Papy and Amanda Hollowell and will focus on many issues, “including training women to run for local office, storytelling from past marchers, voter registration, and creating a local game plan for what we can do on the local level that will move our community forward.”

This event will also kick off the local version of the national voter registration and mobilization tour targeting swing states.

According to Papy, last year’s march signified “… a real call to action and collective response from our communities.”

“… We have no time to waste. Democracy and community building is a full-contact sport. Now more than ever, do we need people to be lifting their hands as well as their voices. Now more than ever, can we not stand on the sidelines as spectators and commentators. Now more than ever, we all know there is much to be done and it takes everything we’ve got. Every member, every leader, every platform, every approach and every dime.”

Both women agree that the issues they plan to address are complex and intersecting, “… which means we all are focusing on different spaces underneath this umbrella of equity for women — whether the issue is health care, racial justice, voter turnout, running for office, reproductive justice, gender equity, affordable housing — the list can and does go on.”

They also feel the larger point to this event is to focus on “… digging into this year to fully impact whatever issue it is we are concentrating on to show that this is not just a moment, but a fully fledged promise to change the way things are.”

Papy explains that for her, this is an incredibly important electoral year with midterms. “Especially in Georgia with our governor’s race. There is a massive influx of women being trained and running for office based on endorsements from HerTerm, Emily’s List, and Georgia’s Win List.”

Organizers have about 45 women scheduled to speak at the day-long event.

“The range of women being featured in this event is powerful evidence of who we have in this community working to do good, whether they are lawyers and nonprofit leaders or grassroots activists and artists,” Papy says.

“… We invite our officials, whether on city council, county commission or state representatives, to join us on this day. We invite those who are skeptical about this movement or do not fully understand it. We invite people to ask questions, get to know more about this community and challenge themselves.”